Thank you WEF

The Worthington Education Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing support to projects in the Worthington school district that will benefit students. We wrote a grant application that was awarded to us last night during the Board of Education meeting.

The WEF has generously funded our grant application to start creating a Stress Management And Resiliency Training - "SMART" Lab. This new space in the counseling center will be a place where students can work to build the skills to help manage their feelings and emotions. Having new opportunities to practice regulating emotions is an opportunity we are really excited about having at Kilbourne.

Our goal is to start getting the SMART Lab set up early in 2026 so that all students can have the chance to start using it during the 2nd semester. More information about this new space will be forthcoming as we get it launched.

Senior Application Deadline Reminder

Seniors, I know many of you are still working on college applications.  I wanted to remind you to please, watch your deadlines!  

If you are looking at an early January deadline, you need to make sure that you have completed your transcript release form and invited me through Common App to submit your transcript. This should be done no later than this Friday, December 13th, in order to make sure I can get it taken care of before break.  Like you and your teachers, I will not be here during winter break to get a transcript for you, so you must plan ahead.  

Remember, you can have me upload your transcript to Common App without you being ready to submit your application so please, go ahead and invite me on Common App now!  And don't forget that you must also go to the Counselor Website to request your transcript in order to authorize it's release to the colleges.  It's a quick process, so just go ahead and knock that piece out now.

If you have any questions, please stop and see me!

Pre-ACT Results

Your Pre-ACT scores are back!  Your scores are available for pick up in the Counseling Center.  You can pick up your score sheets during your lunch periods or before or after school from any of the secretaries at the front of the counseling center. 

One nice feature of the PreACT is that you will get your test booklet and the score summary written report.  You can use this information to help you determine what you did well on and what you want to improve on in the future.

Don't forget, these are just practice tests so they are giving you an indication of where you might expect to score on the actual ACT and you can use your results to help guide you in preparing to achieve college readiness.

I hope your scores were what you were expecting (or perhaps even better).  If you have any questions don't hesitate to stop by and see me.

**Just a reminder, this post is also being shared on the NEW WKHS Counselor blog. This blog site will no longer be active beyond 2025 so you can transition to receive all blog posts emailed directly to you by subscribing to the new blog site.**

College Admissions Decisions

College admissions decisions are already starting to come in for some students. Every senior looks forward to receiving their college acceptance letters. It is an exciting time and reassures that there is more ahead. Depending upon the schools where you are applying, it is possible that you will hear back quickly or you may be waiting until sometime in March to find out if you have been accepted. I do ask that as you begin receiving your acceptance or, sadly, even rejection letters, to please keep me informed about the decisions. For the vast majority of the colleges, the only way I know about your admissions decision is if you share the information with me.

Remember, the only way to receive an acceptance letter is to actually APPLY to the college! (Just a friendly little reminder for those of you who are still struggling to get your applications finished.)

Exam Schedule

I wanted to give all students and parents a summary of the semester exam schedule with some additional frequently asked questions...

Day One - Wednesday, December 17th:

8:40 - 10:35: 1st period exam

10:45 - 12:40: 4th period exam

12:40 - 1:20: Lunch

1:25 - 3:20: 7th period exam

Day Two - Thursday, December 18th:

8:40 - 10:35: 2nd period exam

10:45 - 12:40: 5th period exam

12:40 - 1:20: Lunch

1:25 - 3:20: 8th period exam

Day Three - Friday, December 19th:

8:40 - 10:35: 3rd period exam

10:45 - 12:40: 6th period exam

12:40 - 120: NO Lunch Provided! 

1:25 - 3:20: Make-Up Exams

A couple of questions that tend to come up at exam time...

Yes, you are REQUIRED and EXPECTED to be in all of your classes during an exam. (Even if you don't have an actual exam, the teachers are going to be working with you on projects, papers, or other learning related to their course.)

No, you do NOT need to be in school during your scheduled lunch period or during your Options or Prep periods. (Which means, for example, that if you have 3rd period prep and 6th period lunch that you do not have to come to school at all on the 19th.)

Yes, there will be two bus runs on Friday - so you can leave after your 6th period exam, but if you need to stay for a make-up exam period then there will be another bus run to take you home then too.

Hope that helps clarify and I hope your studying efforts are going well.

Snow Day!

I absolutely LOVE a snow day! There is something that feels extra magical about them. Perhaps they make me feel like a kid again, but I love the simple joys that having a snow day brings. The hope that we can have a bonus day off grows into the anticipation as the snow starts to fall and then the surprise and excitement as the news about school being cancelled is all fun. Add in the enjoyment of some hot chocolate, the beautiful look of the snow, the warmth of a fire and my Christmas tree lights, relaxing while reading, and counting shoveling snow as my exercise for the day - all of it equals a pretty great day as far as I am concerned!

Tomorrow as we return to school, we will also have a return to End of Course testing for some of our students. Please check your school email for information on who will be testing on which days. The Holiday & Grief workshop that was scheduled for today will move to later in the week. We will be sending out details to students who have expressed interest in participating. (If you feel like this is something that could be helpful for you this year, we still invite you to join us - please talk to your school counselor for more information.)

I hope you had a great snow day and used it to rest, relax and recharge... and I guess maybe to study too. Just 10 days of classes left before exams!

Study Strategies

Do you know how to study? I ask students that question a lot and, quite honestly, the most common response is "no." It really isn't a surprise though. The reality is that until high school gets hard enough that you hit the wall and it no longer comes easy to you, studying isn't something you typically have to worry about and spend a lot of time focusing on.

The challenging part of studying is that what works best for one person may not be what works best for someone else. And, even if you figure out what works best for you in one particular subject area, that doesn't mean this particular strategy will be most effective for a different subject.

The best news is that there are TONS of different ideas and strategies that you can use to develop a study strategy that works best for you! For what it is worth, think of learning to study like you think of learning to run. You already know some skills that have helped you to know how to study and to be successful - just like you already know how to run, but if you practice and really train at running, you can improve significantly and studying will work just the same. Keep working at your study strategies, practice and continue refining your technique until you find the perfect combination that works for you.

Freshmen, the upperclass LINK Leaders are focused on helping you prepare for your exams. On Wednesday during the PACK period you will meet with your LINK leaders from the first day to talk more about preparing for exams. Be sure to check your school email to find out where you are going to go to meet with your designated LINK leaders.

And for all students, if you are struggling to find strategies to try out, I encourage you to visit the WKHS Counselor website as their are lots of examples there. You can also work with the Academic Assistant's in the Teaching and Learning Center (Room 205) as they have a wealth of knowledge and helpful tips for study strategies that can help you in their particular subject areas as well as studying overall. And, last, but not least, you can also stop in and see me and I can help brainstorm ideas that you could try.